Nate Diaz, the well-known UFC veteran, has reportedly exited a Russian reality television series that was being filmed in Thailand, where he was set to appear alongside Jon Jones.
Diaz traveled to Thailand to participate in a show described as being similar to *The Ultimate Fighter*, intended for him to serve as a coach alongside Jones. However, it didn`t take long for significant disorder to break out, leading to Diaz leaving the program and flying back home to California. His long-time friend and training partner, Jake Shields, was also present for the filming and documented the chaotic events that unfolded even before formal production had truly begun.
Multiple reports have since confirmed that Diaz departed the show and returned home following a large-scale brawl that erupted involving some of the program`s competitors and members of Diaz`s own team.
Representatives for Nate Diaz were not available to provide comments regarding the incident when contacted.
In a video shared publicly, Shields recounted that the entire production was disorganized from the moment they arrived in Thailand. However, the primary confrontation, or “melee,” occurred after one of the competing fighters confronted Diaz directly during initial introductions.
The footage shared by Shields reportedly shows the Russian competitor first speaking with Jon Jones before approaching Diaz. It appears that the fighter attempted to grab Diaz, who immediately pushed him away.
The situation rapidly escalated moments later, leading to a physical altercation between Diaz and the competitor. Shields is quoted as saying, “Nate went and slapped him.” The conflict then fully erupted when a member of Diaz`s team punched the fighter.
Shields alleges that instead of removing the Russian competitor from the premises, he was permitted to return to the same area where a second altercation subsequently broke out. Shields claims he became directly involved this time, tackling the fighter who initially confronted Diaz.
“Just as I began to confront him, I was suddenly attacked from the side,” Shields recounted. “It wasn`t from where the fighters were; several individuals just started hitting me. To me, they appeared to be production crew members rather than fighters, as the fighters were seated.”
“It was very clear to me that it was the staff and workers,” Shields continued. “That was one of those moments where I felt I needed to diffuse the situation.”
After the initial brawl was finally broken up, Shields stated that the “chaos” unfortunately persisted. This ongoing disorder ultimately led to Diaz`s entire team collectively deciding to vacate the premises and withdraw from the show.
Eventually, Shields claims the production team attempted to find a way to convince Diaz and his team to return and continue filming. However, by that point, everyone involved had made up their minds against it and was prepared to head back home.
“Why would we go back and film a show?” Shields questioned. “It`s one thing to be fighting the competitors – that`s why I went there with Nate, anticipating some fighters might try to test him – but when you potentially have the crew hitting you as well, it`s absolutely not worth it.”
Just a few days later, Nate Diaz and his entire team flew back to their home base in California, effectively bringing the reality show venture in Thailand to a sudden and unexpected conclusion.
